Family Board Game Review: Rampaging Jotunn

Rampaging Jotunn is a 2 player viking themed game by Lost Cog with a hex board made of large tiles. The object of the game is to avoid the Jotunn (a magically strong giant from Viking mythology), and protect your village using your army. The Jotunn is a constant variable in the game. The game is for players 8 and up and is expected to take 30 minutes to play.

Game Contents

12 Different land tiles (containing 10 hex spaces with forests, fields, mountains, and on some, a volcano)

1 Center Hex

2 Defense line Hexes

1 blue die

1 red die

I Jotunn (marker and stand)

2 Blue vikings (Marker and stand)

2 Red Vikings (marker and stand)

6 Wooden longhouses (3 red, 3 blue)

2 Terrain Cards

6 Army movement cards (3 red, 3 blue)

73 Rampaging Jotunn playing cards

Rulebook

Gameplay

Setup: To set up the center hex with numbers is placed in the center. This is the Jotunn’s direction indicator. The 12 terrain tiles are shuffled and six are randomly selected. Players take turns placing the tile around the center hex to create the board. Next, players take turns to place their three villages, placing one on each turn. Then, players take turns to place their two armies, and they must put them on an adjacent tile to two of the villages. Each player is given 3 Army Movement Cards, and have a Terrain card for movement reference for the Jotunn and their armies. Players are also dealt five Rampaging Jotunn playing cards. The final step of setup is to place the Jotunn on the center tile and roll to see which number he faces for his starting direction.

During their turn, players have several options.

They can:

use one of their Army movement cards and move their army (note: once your three movement cards are used you get all three back to use again)

Play a Jotunn card and move the Jotunn (or follow any special directions on the card)

Discard 3 cards from your hand to raise an army

At the end of their turn a player draws to bring their Jotunn hand back up to 5, also if the Jotunn was not moved on a players turn it moves forward one space in whatever direction it is facing.

Battles:

If you move your army onto the hex of another army you both have to roll to “battle” the offensive army gets plus one to their roll and the higher roll wins. The defeated army is removed from the board.

If the Jotunn lands on an army it instantly defeats the army, and it is removed from the board.

Should the Jotunn land on a village that has not gotten a defense line hex, it is instantly defeated. With a defense line hex under the village the Jotunn must roll a three or more to defeat the village.

Armies can also attack an opponent’s village.

If a player loses all their villages they lose the game.

Family Gaming Assessment

Rampaging Jotunn is a good game for the family to play together. The game does take a little time to learn and is not intuitive with some of the multiple steps and mechanics per turn. This game, especially with younger players would benefit from a play through to learn the rules. The age rating is 8 and up, and I agree. An inexperienced gamer on the lower end of the age range will benefit from support with the steps and mechanics until they are more comfortable with the game.Once the rules and mechanics of the game are understood and comfortable the gameplay move smoothly. There is also a notable amount of strategy, mixed with some luck, and that may make it more challenging to play with two different skill levels.

Currently, the game is only available as a two player game. According to the developer, Matthias Bonnici, as of June 2017, that they are looking to do a Kickstarter “soon” for a four player version of Rampaging Jotunn. As a two player game it is more challenging to include the whole family playing, so a four player game is one to watch for on Kickstarter.

Conclusion

The viking theme of Rampaging Jotunn is entertaining and the graphics are appealing to players of all ages. The game was easily mastered in one play through and was engaging to play. The gameplay while a bit complicated to learn more smoothly once a few turns were played. Rampaging Jotunn is a good addition to a family’s game collection, especially if you enjoy the Viking theme.